A new poll shows most Americans oppose efforts by insurers to deny patients the opportunity to use charitable contributions to help pay for insurance premiums. (NAPS)

(NAPSI)—A new national poll conducted by YouGov
found that 91 percent of Americans believe insurance companies should not be
allowed to deny coverage for people with chronic diseases whose premiums are
paid by charitable organizations.

Known as “charitable premium assistance,” the federally
approved practice of patients applying for and receiving help from charities
to pay insurance premiums has long been accepted. Yet recent efforts by
insurers to undermine the practice have left many people worried about their
insurance coverage. Across the country more than 74,000 dialysis and kidney
transplant patients—who are overwhelmingly unable to work because of
their illness—rely on help from the American Kidney Fund (AKF) to
afford health insurance premiums.

The poll found that 76 percent of respondents believe insurers want to
block charitable premium assistance “to increase the company’s
profits by not providing coverage for people who are very sick.”

“Consumers overwhelmingly reject efforts by the billion-dollar
health insurers, their lobbyists and their legislative patrons
to deny charitable assistance that pays patients’ health
insurance premiums,” said LaVarne A. Burton,
president and CEO of AKF. “Consumers are smart enough to see through
the insurers’ false statements and to recognize insurer efforts to end
or limit charitable premium assistance are clear evidence of insurers doing
what they do best: trying to find every possible way not to pay for sick
people’s care,” she said. “The question is whether they’ve
been able to find enough legislators who will take the insurers’ side
instead of protecting sick patients.”

The poll showed that individuals are not inclined to vote for legislators
who side with insurers. A vast majority of respondents (88 percent) are less
willing to vote for a politician who supports the industry’s efforts.

What the Survey Shows

Among the findings:

• 91 percent of respondents felt private insurance companies should
not be allowed to kick patients with chronic diseases off their health
insurance just because the patients’ premiums are paid by an
organization such as a nonprofit charity.

• 87 percent of consumers support the government’s current
position of letting private charities help patients pay their insurance
premiums, co-pays, and out-of-pocket costs when the patient suffers from a
debilitating illness such as kidney failure.

• 71 percent of respondents think patients with a chronic disease
should be able to choose their health insurance plan. This number
dramatically exceeds those who think state and federal governments (17
percent) or health insurance companies (13 percent) should choose which
health insurance a patient with a chronic disease can have.

Concluded AKF’s Burton, “I believe
people inherently understand that if insurers are successful in their
campaign against people with kidney disease, people with other chronic diseases
will be easy next targets. We’ll continue to protect patients by
working with legislators and regulators at the national and state levels.”

As the nation’s leading independent nonprofit working on behalf of
the 30 million Americans with kidney disease, AKF is dedicated to ensuring
that every kidney patient has access to health care and that every person at
risk for kidney disease is empowered to prevent it. AKF provides a complete
spectrum of programs and services: prevention outreach, top-rated health
educational resources, and direct financial assistance enabling one in five
U.S. dialysis patients to access lifesaving medical care, including dialysis
and transplantation.

“A recent poll found that 91 percent of Americans
believe insurance companies should not be allowed to deny coverage for people
with chronic diseases such as kidney disease whose premiums are paid by
charitable organizations. http://bit.ly/2M1xvCR”

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